Broken symmetry and Yang-Mills theory
arXiv:hep-th/0406162 · doi:10.1142/9789812567147_0004
Abstract
From its inception in statistical physics to its role in the construction and in the development of the asymmetric Yang-Mills phase in quantum field theory, the notion of spontaneous broken symmetry permeates contemporary physics. This is reviewed with particular emphasis on the conceptual issues.
Latex 30 pages, 9 figures. Typo corrected. Contribution to "Fifty years of Yang Mills theory", editor G. 't Hooft, to be published by World Scientific